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Do Dangerous Dogs Deserve a Second Chance?

By Jennifer Grant

Viciously bitten by his beloved dog, Sinn, five-year old Kash Biermann, son of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, spent four days in hospital recovering from significant facial wounds that nearly took his eyesight. By all accounts, Kash was the dog’s favorite person and Sinn had never been aggressive prior to this moment. The ultimate nightmare for any dog owner follows this sort of scenario, when your most loyal friend becomes an unpredictable and possibly dangerous entity. And then it’s time to put them down.

Kroy Biermann & Kim Zolciak-Biermann

“I don’t want to see the dog – he doesn’t get a second chance.”
-Kroy Biermann (father of Kash)

Every year there are more than 4.5 million documented dog bites in the United States, with an average of 41 attacks being fatal to a human. Most of these animals are familiar to the victim. As a point of interest, according to CanineJournal.com, the breeds that are most likely to bite include (in order of probability): Chihuahua, Bulldog, Pit-bull Breeds, and German Shepherd. These big numbers make it seem like there is a lot of biting going on, but the true odds of being attacked by your furry friend are 1 in 112,400 (National Safety Council, 2017). You are far more likely to be involved in a car crash (1 in 114).

So, while the stats are ever in your favor, being physically attacked by someone you love results in some very significant changes to the dynamics of the relationship. When that attack is on your child, who is relying on your decision for his or her protection, there really doesn’t seem to be room for trust reparation. And that’s pretty much what the Internet had to say about the homecoming of Sinn, the husky-boxer mix that belongs to Kroy and Kim.

Fortunately for Sinn, the Biermanns were able to do a kind of play-by-play using security footage from that day in April 2017. It seems that Sinn got agitated when Kroy started up the leaf blower. Kash continued to urge Sinn to engage in play even though the dog’s demeanor clearly switched gears into high alert. Kash then made a loud noise and Sinn responded by barking. Kash continued playing and Sinn lashed out. Almost immediately following the bite, Sinn ran from the scene with what can only be construed as regret and fear. He did not continue to attack the boy. Even still, it was a terrible deed that resulted in Kash nearly losing his eye and it could have been so much worse. Dogs are powerful and humans rely on a mutually trusting relationship to know for certain they aren’t going to eat us alive. Any indication that they may generally results in a pre-emptive euthanasia strike.

According to the America Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), dogs at the highest risk of being euthanized are those that give no warning prior to attack and have a history of aggressive behavior. These candidates also tend to be large dogs with a bite that has a high PSI (a unit of measure for amount of pressure applied to an inch of space). Euthanasia qualifiers do vary from state to state, but it’s pretty consistent that an animal can be seized and labelled as dangerous if three conditions are met:

The animal has seriously injured or killed a human.

An animal control officer believes the animal is likely to seriously injure or kill a human.

The animal has seriously injured or killed another animal.

No one seized the Biermann’s dog; every step of the story remains under their writing. In fact, shortly after biting Kash, Sinn’s trainer whisked in and collected him. And it is there that Sinn remained until this recent decision about his fate. In the end, it took many weeks for the Biermanns to bring Sinn back into the house. His return is largely because Kash begged for his friend to come home. Even after being reinstalled, Sinn does not enjoy the free reign he was accustomed to, because he is no longer trusted. Is it fair?

After the attack

Well, I think we can agree that dangerous animals should not be circulating within the general population, no matter how much you love them. What we can’t agree on is how to parse out the good from the bad. The question really does not surround the Biermanns and their choice to give Sinn another chance. It’s much, much bigger than that: How many “good dogs” are put down every year simply because they reacted instinctively while under stress? Does a bad dog deserve a second chance? I’m inclined to say yes, but with restrictions and some professional behavior management for the whole family. Any betrayal needs rebuilding, and with love and patience, perhaps everyone can heal.